You spend a lot of energy working out at the gym, but what if all that effort gave you more than just a buff bod? The Italian architects Carlo Ratti Associati, have designed a floating gym that is powered by the exercise of the people working out inside it! The 20-meter-long Paris Navigating Gym would be equipped with Technogym‘s ARTIS exercise machines which can harness the energy of the users to float gently down the Seine river.
The transparent glass bubble design was inspired by the Bateaux Mouches ferry boats that have carried tourists across the river since the early 20th century. The gym will be a collaboration between Technogym, Terreform ONE, and URBEM, and will be adapted to use ARTIS bikes and cross trainers that capture the energy of the individuals using the exercise machine to power the boat.
Carlo Ratti said, “The Paris Navigating Gym investigates the potential of harnessing human power. It’s fascinating to see how the energy generated by a workout at the gym can actually help to propel a boat. It provides one with a tangible experience of what lies behind the often abstract notion of ‘electric power’.”
[Via – Inhabitat]
